1. The New Criterion's Roger Kimball on conservatism:
"Conservative": that means wanting to conserve what is worth preserving from the ravages of time and ideology, evil and stupidity. In some plump eras, as Evelyn Waugh observed in one of his essays, the task is so easy we can almost forget how necessary it is. At other times, the enemies of civilization transform the task of preserving culture into a battle for survival. That, we believe, is where we are today.
(HT: Right Reason)
2. An Introduction to Square-Foot Gardening
3. Sen. Sam Brownback on being 'pro-life, whole life':
I believe the child in the womb should be protected, and that we should also protect the person that's in poverty, and the child that's in Darfur, and working with prisoners so they don't have so much recidivism and always back in the system.
Amen, Senator. (HT: Mirror of Justice)
In the book, you write about surprising findings concerning evangelical teens. What were they?
Evangelical teens express conservative attitudes about sex, but they are very average in their actual behavior. Why? Because evangelical kids live in two worlds. The new world tells them to value career, self-fulfillment, happiness and entertainment – and this is what adults and parents model for them. But the old world – to which evangelicals still pay deference – values keeping commitments, God, marriage and delaying pleasure.
Most American kids only live in the new world. Evangelicals still inhabit both. The result is conflict and compromise: old world values but new world actions.
5. Video artist Eric Medine has created what he calls the "ultimate arbitration between politics and Christianity." It's called "Christ Killa," a first-person-shooter video game in which the player shoots hordes of homicidal Jesus Christs.
6. G.K. Chesterton on divorce:
If Americans can be divorced for "incompatibility of temper" I cannot conceive why they are not all divorced. I have known many happy marriages, but never a compatible one. The whole aim of marriage is to fight through and survive the instant when incompatibility becomes unquestionable. For a man and a woman, as such, are incompatible.
(HT: Stuart Buck)
7. Julia Gorin on why embryos are cooler than kids:
Feminists heralded the proliferation of abortion as a tool by which to "empower" women and give them control over their lives and destinies. But power is being pregnant. Because it gives you control over other people's lives. Embryos and fetuses get you treated like royalty. Not only do people cede the right of way to you; not only do people in line at the ladies' room let you get in front of them; but if the man who impregnated you sticks around for just a few more months, you get to lie on the couch all day and just point to things, and they magically come to you. You just have to say, "Honey, I think I'm craving a ---," and the chocolate-banana-peanut-butter milkshake appears in your hand. What can be more powerful?
(HT: Mere Comments)
8. Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality (HT: Kottke)
9. Predictions of the Year 2000 from The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900:
Prediction #2: The American will be taller by from one to two inches. His increase of stature will result from better health, due to vast reforms in medicine, sanitation, food and athletics. He will live fifty years instead of thirty-five as at present – for he will reside in the suburbs. The city house will practically be no more. Building in blocks will be illegal. The trip from suburban home to office will require a few minutes only. A penny will pay the fare.
(HT: Kottke)
10. How To Turn Your Daughter Into A Whore In Two Easy Steps:
Step 1. Enroll your daughter in public school.
Step 2. Kick back and watch.
I bet I got your attention, didn’t I? And I bet you’re wondering where I’m coming from on this. Let me fill you in.
I teach mathematics in public high school. I’ve done so for the past five years. I remember my first week as a public school teacher–I called my wife and told her that I felt like I had landed right in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrah. I also told her there was no way in you know where my daughter would ever go to public school beyond elementary school. Five years later, I still feel that way.
(HT: Steve Olson)
11. A great clip of comedian Jeff Foxworthy explaining and defending the appeal of country music.
12. Adults are unable to tell when children are lying:
The children's parts in the interviews were video-taped and played to 60 undergrads (average age 26 years) whose task was to identify which accounts were truthful and which were fabricated. Overall, the undergrads were correct 51.5 per cent of the time – no better than chance. They were slightly better at spotting the unprepared made up accounts, identifying 55.6 per cent of these.
It's no wonder the undergrads were so poor at spotting the children's lies - the children seemed to anticipate their lie-detection strategies. For example, the most commonly used cue the undergrads said they looked for was a lack of detail in the children's accounts, but meanwhile the children's most commonly cited strategy for appearing convincing was to add detail to their accounts by drawing on information they knew about from other people's experiences. The undergrads also said they had looked for signs of nerves, while the children said they had tried to stay calm.
13. 13 Essential Southern Documentaries (HT: WORLD blog)
14. Best-selling rap star Cam'ron says there's no situation -- including a serial killer living next door -- that would cause him to help police in any way, because to do so would hurt his music sales and violate his "code of ethics." (HT: In the Agora)
15. Criminologist James Q. Wilson on Europe's attitude toward American violence:
As for the European disdain for our criminal culture, many of those countries should not spend too much time congratulating themselves. In 2000, the rate at which people were robbed or assaulted was higher in England, Scotland, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Sweden than it was in the United States. The assault rate in England was twice that in the United States. In the decade since England banned all private possession of handguns, the BBC reported that the number of gun crimes has gone up sharply
16. Note to collegiate binge drinkers: Drinking heavily in college may lead to heart disease later in life
17. Humans are the animal world's best distance runners. (HT: Kottke)
18. Designer Katherine McCoy on the official typeface of the 20th century:
"The Helvetica Medium lower-case `a'... is the most beautiful two-dimensional form ever designed. Its luxurious sensual curves are balanced by points of crisp tension. Its lovely counter makes me think of Mozart."
19. Are historically Black colleges good for Black students?
Truth be told, we don’t want to be rich. Don’t get me wrong. Most of us act like financial idiots. Are we in debt up to our ears? Yes. Do we buy things we can’t afford? Yes. If our income suddenly stopped could we survive six months until we could get it kickstarted into action again? No. Do we save enough for our retirement? No.
But…. Deep down, as incoherent as the thought may be, most of us know that money is a tool, not an end in itself.
21. David Hambling on the government's Cold War-era nuclear shelters:
Until 1988, [Mount Pony Federal Reserve Bunker's] main 23,500 square foot hall held enough cash - shrink-wrapped, and stacked nine feet high on wooden pallets - to replace all the circulating currency north of the Mississippi. (It even included a quantity of rare $2 bills.) This would be essential in the aftermath of any war; as previous experience showed, hard cash is vital for any rebuilding plans. Bizarre as it may seem, cities might burn but the heaps of greenbacks would sit out any conflict securely in air-conditioned comfort.
22. World's oldest business ends 1,428-year run. (HT: BoingBoing)
23. Alvin Toffler on the New Illiteracy: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." (JollyBlogger)
24. 40 Things That Only Happen In The Movies
25. Coming soon to Broadway: Spider-Man, The Musical. The production is being produced by Bono, the Edge, and "Lion King" stage director Julie Taymor. (HT: YPulse)
26. The downside of being good-looking and wealthy:
“We provide the first evidence that a subtle shift in preference takes place at the more desirable end of the mate-choice continuum,” the researchers concluded, “...by showing greater preference for physically attractive males of lower status, females may be slightly adjusting their preferences away from males who are potentially more likely to cheat”.
27. The World's Most Surprising Shortage:
At first, it was just a trickle. Indian call center workers become serial job hoppers, boosting their salaries 20% with every new position. Factory workers in Vietnam leave for the holidays and don't return. Computer programmers in Bulgaria don't bother to answer the want ads of a Los Angeles movie studio. But today, anecdotes of a global labor crunch have turned into a flood. Last week, staffing agency Manpower Inc. released the results of a survey of nearly 37,000 employers in 27 countries. It turns out that more than four out of 10 employers around the world are having trouble hiring the right kind of staff for the right kind of money. And the problem is getting worse.
(HT: Steve Olson)
28. Accurately Estimate your Credit Score for Free (HT: Dumb Little Man)
29. Spectrum® Postoperatively Adjustable Breast Implants "allows the physician to adjust the size of the breast implant for up to six months after your breast augmentation surgery. In a simple office procedure, your surgeon can add or remove saline to adjust the final size of the breast implant."
30. Ken Connor on Human Dignity and the Imus Culture
31. A study by the Rand Corp. has found that the divorce rate among military families is no higher than a decade ago. The study also found numbers that suggested that war-zone deployments could actually strengthen marriages by providing extra money — in the form of combat pay and tax breaks — and giving the deployed spouse a sense of job satisfaction.
32. An overwhelming majority of Afghans favor democratic government and demonstrate a surprisingly sophisticated understanding of democracy, according to a new analysis by UC Irvine political scientist Russell Dalton. Support of democracy is stronger in Afghanistan than in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq or Indonesia, according to Dalton, and Afghans' support is relatively uniform across social groups like Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras.
33. Two chickens breaking up a fight between two rabbits.
(HT: Kottke)
1
Hey, what's the big idea? I tried to take the credit score test, I checked the place for "never owned a credit card" and "never had a loan in my life". Then it opens a page that says "sorry, we cannot rate your credit score..."
Oh well, better luck next time. I have this 'thing' about living debt free. Easier to rail against the whole rotten system that way. I think debt is the veneer that hides the true state of the economy. Hey, you wanna have some fun? Better hurry, cause these folks aren't going to be around a lot longer. Get yourself a portable tape recorder, go interview some old people, like 75 plus years old.
Ask them things like: When you bought your first house, how long did you save up for the down payment? How long did it take to pay off the loan entirely? How many divorced people did you know? Ask them about issues that you're interested in. It's really a 'trip' talking to a WW2 vet, or someone that grew up cooking on a wood cook stove. It's as though you're linked to the past.
Anyway, most of the few I've interviewed said they saved up for 5 years on the down payment, took another 10 to pay it off. Compare that to these days. Keep the presses rolling, make sure there's enough dollars to go around...
And divorce? The old timers sit there thinking. They say things like: Well there was that one woman, she was a freind of my cousin's neighbor, she was divorced. Then they go back to pondering. It's not that they're slow of thought, they answer all the other questions swiftly, it's just that they didn't know a lot of divorced people.
Some places I bring this up, I get criticed, like: Everything's fine! Things haven't changed at all. You're just a doom & gloomer. Uh-huh, I'm so convinced.
****************
A little OT here, since I've never had a loan, I'm not familiar with the system, I'm wondering if you guys can help me out with a question: Do banks have any kind of medical info or medical exam requirements when a person applies for a loan? Serious question, need it for a project I'm working on.
2
Thanks for the inclusion. Also, for
the other links. I'm in the middle
of a blog debate about gun control.
You can imagine where I stand!
3
Step 1. Enroll your daughter in public school.
Step 2. Kick back and watch.
I bet I got your attention, didn’t I? And I bet you’re wondering where I’m coming from on this. Let me fill you in.
Having been on both sides of that coin (Public and Private School) there was little difference in promiscuity between people in public and private schools when you controlled for, say, church attendance. However, the private schools had the option (and used it) for any girl that got pregnant to be eligible for immediate expulsion. I'm working my way through the Bible - I'm sure I'll come across the justification for that policy. The point is that they had a little more control on their population.
The result of my experience on both sides of the fence. I spent a few years in a school run by the Assembly of God and a few years in a school run by Cabarrus County, NC. I'm a bit more generous when the kids from the local public are conducting their fundraisers.
Why?
I learned more about the Bible in my Bible History class (which survived an ACLU audit) in public school than I did in my "Bible" class at the AoG school. The difference was that the public high school was forced to teach the text, but the AoG high school used it as something to bludgeon the recalcitrant scions of their pious parents.
I will say that one of the most rewarding experiences of my Christian walk was studing the Bible and consulting Christians to unlearn what I was subjected to at the two years that I spent at the AoG school.
posted on 04.23.2007 9:28 AM4
The look that first chicken gives the black-and-white rabbit is priceless.
"Did you not hear me?!? What did I tell you about fighting?!?"
And the rabbit won't even make eye contact.
So ... familiar.
posted on 04.23.2007 11:42 AM5
However, the private schools had the option (and used it) for any girl that got pregnant to be eligible for immediate expulsion. I'm working my way through the Bible - I'm sure I'll come across the justification for that policy. The point is that they had a little more control on their population.
I'm not sure Catholic schools would do this, especially since this policy would seem perfectly designed to encourage girls (and even their parents) to get quick abortions should they become pregnant.
However here's an interesting thought. Jesus was castigated for hanging around the 'fallen women' etc. I guess we could say today Jesus would have went to public school rather than 'Christian school'.
posted on 04.23.2007 12:43 PM6
I guess we could say today Jesus would have went to public school rather than 'Christian school'.
Hello! Where is your head? Christ?... He WAS the ultimate Christian school.
posted on 04.23.2007 1:53 PM8
Hello! Where is your head? Christ?... He WAS the ultimate Christian school.
Well yea when he was teaching but you seem to forget he spent the bulk of his life simply living. Presumably when he was a kid he learned from his father (or step-father) how to be a carpenter as was the custom at that time. That was how kids were taught back then, today he would have attended a school.
Do you not know sarcasm when you see it?
Actually I was being sarcastic towards a Christian school with a policy of expelling girls who become pregnant.
posted on 04.23.2007 3:09 PM9
"10. How To Turn Your Daughter Into A Whore In Two Easy Steps:
Step 1. Enroll your daughter in public school.
Step 2. Kick back and watch.
I bet I got your attention, didn’t I?"
Yes, you did, but is it really necessary to resort to misrepresentations of fact to do so? I've taught in a public school for longer than you have, and I know there is more to it than that. If parents abdicate their children's upbringing to the school, they might expect such an unhappy result. There are many fine young ladies in the public schools I'd be proud to claim as my daughters, but I can only legitimately claim two (no pun).
Parents make the difference. Show me a whore, and I'll show you an absent father, a slutty mom, or a pair of very indifferent or detached parents.
10
Cam'ron won't snitch no matter the circumstance? Finally, a true deontologist!
posted on 04.23.2007 11:16 PM11
Well yea when he was teaching but you seem to forget he spent the bulk of his life simply living.
Non sequitur. We ALL spend the bulk of our life simply living.
Presumably when he was a kid he learned from his father (or step-father) how to be a carpenter as was the custom at that time. That was how kids were taught back then, today he would have attended a school.
Learning the carpentry trade from his adoptive father is synonymous with private schooling, or in today's phraseology 'home-schooling'. Public schooling prior to college is a relatively new phenomenon, only being practiced one-and-a-half to two centuries compared to the 50 or more centuries of home (or private) schooling. Compared to private schooling, even colleges are mere toddlers. And where did Jesus receive instruction in his real father's trade, at synagogue... a religious school, not public or secular.
posted on 04.24.2007 3:00 AM12
Learning the carpentry trade from his adoptive father is synonymous with private schooling,
Errr, not it isn't. Did he pay his father to teach him how to be a carpenter? You're overthinking this too much. Back then they didn't have school (for most people). Kids stayed home and picked up whatever their parents did. Today kids go to school.
Non sequitur. We ALL spend the bulk of our life simply living.
No you're just being purposefully dense. 'Simply living' means doing what most other people do. Jesus spent the bulk of his life being a carpenter. Granted the last few years are of utmost importance historically and theologically but those are the facts.
Don't feel so off put. Jesus is hardly the only Biblical person to spend a majority of his life 'off stage'. I believe Abraham was in his 60's before God even got around to telling him to leave his homeland.
Public schooling prior to college is a relatively new phenomenon, only being practiced one-and-a-half to two centuries compared to the 50 or more centuries of home (or private) schooling. Compared to private schooling, even colleges are mere toddlers.
You're mixing up private education/learning (done in the home) with private schooling (note the word 'school', your parents house is your home, not a school). Your typical private school with its textbooks, classrooms and teachers look a lot more like any typical public school than a family workshop from 2,000+ years ago.
13
Jesus spent the bulk of his life being a carpenter.
That would be why they called him Rabbi as an honorific instead of Carpenter, eh? Oops, that doesn't work. His adoptive father spent the bulk of his life being a carpenter. Your assumption is unfounded.
Don't feel so off put. Jesus is hardly the only Biblical person to spend a majority of his life 'off stage'. I believe Abraham was in his 60's before God even got around to telling him to leave his homeland.
Nonsense, I hardly feel off put by your lack of understanding.
Your typical private school with its textbooks, classrooms and teachers look a lot more like any typical public school than a family workshop from 2,000+ years ago.
You shouldn't assume the historical model resembles the modern appearance. 'Classroom teaching' in the modern sense is new even for private schooling. Secular private schooling has for the bulk of history been by tutoring in either the parent's or the tutor's domain (which for apprenticeship would be the work place)rather than public lands. Religious or sacred private schooling upon the advent of Christendom was in the Church's domain, and even there, it barely resembled 'classroom teaching' until relatively recently. Ultimately, the point is that you used 'Christian' school synonymously with 'Private' school and stated that "Jesus would have went to a public school..." when there were no such things (public school, private school, or Christian school) in that time period. Indeed, at that time, the teacher was synonymous with the school. That is why I stated that Jesus was the ultimate Christian school.
posted on 04.24.2007 5:13 PM14
That would be why they called him Rabbi as an honorific instead of Carpenter, eh?
Yes he was called Rabbi when he began teaching which was a relatively brief period at the end of his earthly life.
I can no longer debate whether or not Jesus would have attended a public or private school.
posted on 04.24.2007 9:38 PM15
#17 -- Of course they are. No other animal would be stupid enough to run long distances willingly. ;-)
posted on 05.01.2007 10:57 PM